From psychotherapist and social media star Meg Josephson, a groundbreaking exploration of people-pleasing as an under-recognized but common trauma response, that also offers a compassionate and actionable path for healing. Are you... - Constantly worried about what people think of you, if they like you, if they''re mad at you? - Anxious, a perfectionist, or an overachiever? - Always overextending yourself (and then resentful)? - Someone who avoids conflict at all costs? - Fearful of getting into trouble or being seen as "bad"? - Silencing your needs for the comfort and happiness of everyone else? - Prone to overexplain or over apologize? - Eternally obsessing over why someone texted with a period instead of an exclamation point? In Are You Mad at Me? , psychotherapist Meg Josephson explodes the idea that people-pleasing is a personality trait. Instead, she illuminates how it''s actually a common trauma response (also known as "fawning"): an instinct often learned in childhood to become more appealing to a perceived threat in order to feel safe. Yet many people are stuck in this way of being for their whole lives. Meg weaves her own moving story, fascinating patient case studies, and thought-provoking exercises to show readers how to: - Identify all the roles you might play from peacekeeper to performer to caretaker to perfectionist to lone wolf to chameleon that keep you far from yourself. - Stop fearing your thoughts and emotions, even if they''re unpleasant. - Rethink conflict and boundaries as an opening for deeper connection. - Practice "leaning back" in relationships.

Autorentext

Meg Josephson is a psychotherapist, meditation teacher and content creator who shares insights into how we can improve our mental wellbeing across Instagram, TikTok and Substack. Meg takes complex yet common human experiences and breaks them down in tangible, digestible ways, offering gentle, supportive wisdom and insight to her viewers, readers and clients. Her approach is trauma-informed, mindfulness-based and compassion-focused, and blends Western clinical frameworks with Buddhist thought and practice.

Klappentext

'A cure for chronic people-pleasing' Adam Grant, author of Think Again

Are you constantly worried about what people think of you? Psychotherapist Meg Josephson explores the common survival instinct fawning and offers explanations, comfort and solutions.

If you ever:

Leave social situations overthinking something you've said
Overlook your own boundaries to make other people happy
Struggle to say what you really want - even to yourself

You might be fawning.

In Are You Mad at Me? Meg challenges the idea that people-pleasing is a personality trait, exposing it to be an instinct learned in childhood to become more appealing to a perceived threat in order to feel safe. Yet many people are stuck in this way of being for their whole lives.

Weaving her own moving story with case studies and thought-provoking exercises, Meg will show you how to identify your needs, rethink conflict and build stronger connections: empowering you to stop focusing on what others think and start living for you.

'This book will feel like coming up for air. Read it and get free' Katherine Morgan Schafler

Reader Reviews:

'Feels like a comforting hand on the shoulder'
'Gives me strength to continue to make changes in my life'
'This book changed my life'